Comments on Galt's Gulch or Bust! 2.0: The Ron Paul Dilemma

I voted for Ron Paul in 2008 for two reasons: 1) ...

2011-08-15T18:40:09.803-05:00

I voted for Ron Paul in 2008 for two reasons:

1) I knew he wouldn't win.

2) To "send a message" aka "FU!!!" to the establishment.

I won't be voting for him again though. His Campaign for Liberty is run by a conman, a liar, a thief, who has gone beyond exaggerations, truth stretching, implications of the impossible, to outright lying and promising the impossible. For only 153,000 John Tate of the C4L promised Ron Paul would audit the Fed! That's downright fraudulent, and Ron Paul's lack of character judgment and complete lack of awareness to what people say and do in his name leave me so disgusted that I won't vote for him again. Still, if you aren't too offended by such awful shenanigans, he isn't going to win, and it will still be a FU! to the state.

Great post by the way!

The principle emphasized in the Boaz quote seems t...

2011-08-06T08:41:13.054-05:00

The principle emphasized in the Boaz quote seems to be why many choose to use the descriptive 'voluntaryist' rather anarcho-capitalist or sometimes even in place of libertarian.

I find it interesting that as I have come to these ideas I am sometimes entirely surprised that there is a whole body of writing and a complex history about these exact ideas many of us are finding now.
It's as though the ideas are left out of the public consciousness/debate, marginalized and outright ignored.

Subsequently, I suggest you do write the post, as I am confident you will not only do an excellent job of communicating but also are likely to explore the idea further and reveal its relevance.

I have greatly appreciated your posts. Thank You.

forLiberty, Thank you for the comment and the lin...

2011-08-05T23:04:45.340-05:00

forLiberty,

Thank you for the comment and the link. I enjoyed reading the speech.

I hinted at some of the themes expressed in that speechin my post, and I am actually planning on writing a post that discusses the difference between Anarcho-Communism and Anarcho-Capitalism.

My thesis is this, Anarcho-Communisim is an oxymoronic term. Anarchism in its most basic form is lack of a governing body. Communism requires everyone to share. It requires communal ownership of property and the abolition of all private property. This goes against human nature, however. People are selfish. The only way to get everyone to share is to force them into it. Since government is force, and force is government; the entire philosophy of Anarcho-Communism contradicts itself.

Anarcho-Capitalism takes into account the aspects of humanity which are less than desirable. Sure, it would be great if everyone would share, but not everyone is going to do that. Forcing people to do so is immoral. If people voluntarily choose to live in a communal society, I have no problem with it, as long as they do not try to force me to do the same.

"The difference between libertarianism and socialism is that libertarians will tolerate the existence of a socialist community, but socialists can't tolerate a libertarian community." – David D. Boaz (1997)

Boaz was alluding to this same argument. I am just discussing it in its most extreme form.

Maybe I don't need to write a post about it now. I just said everything I wanted to say in my reply! Thanks for the comment!

Peace!

Happened to be reading this by Wendy McElroy today...

2011-08-05T21:21:49.701-05:00

Happened to be reading this by Wendy McElroy today, it is about the differences between 'individual anarchism and communist anarchism'. It has an excellent summary of some of the history of anarchism and libertarianism. Also has some good content, with Spooner and Voltairine de Cleyre weighing in on voting. You may find it interesting:

http://www.mondopolitico.com/library/wendymcelroy/ia.ca.libertarianism/ia.ca.libertarianism.htm

Solid. I too have been debating what to do, and st...

2011-08-05T13:16:37.254-05:00

Solid. I too have been debating what to do, and still have not decided. I also worry that Dr. Paul could be successful, and that all the horror would be blamed on liberty. It's hard to decide.

I am glad you enjoyed the post Jules. The interne...

2011-08-05T08:56:38.069-05:00

I am glad you enjoyed the post Jules. The internet has finally connected all us crazy kooks! Now we can organize!

Thanks for the fine, educational post. I had no i...

2011-08-05T08:54:21.141-05:00

Thanks for the fine, educational post. I had no idea there was a name, voluntarism, for the position I've taken for several decades. Also didn't know enough people embraced a similar enough position for anyone to know apathy doesn't describe it.

Sheeze. It has a name and somewhere some other people think that way! Sort of boggles the mind, mildly annoying having people crawling across my fences.